Dutch Films at Les Arcs

7 December 2020

With no less than four films in the selection Dutch cinema is strongly represented at the twelfth edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival in France.

Isabel Lamberti's debut feature Last Days of Spring will be a part of the Official Competition. Last Days of Spring, produced by IJswater Films, world premiered at San Sebastian, where it won the Kutxabank New Directors Award. The films has also been selected for among others Cannes' ACID, Zurich, Thessaloniki and received the Special Jury Award at MedFilm Festival. International sales are handled by Loco Films.

Last Days of Spring is about the inhabitants of a shanty town near Madrid who are forced to leave their self-build homes. The different members of the Spanish family Gabarre Mendoza struggle, each in their own way, with their lives in transition.

Dutch minority co-production Quo Vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Žbanić, co-produced by Amsterdam-based N279 Entertainment, is also screening in the Official Competition programme (and at the same time part of the Summit programme). Quo Vadis, Aida? celebrated its world premiere in 2020 Venice and was also selected for Toronto (sales: Indie Sales).

Two short films from the Netherlands are presented in Short Films in Competition: Birdland and School's Out!

Birdland is director's Ashgan El-Hamus' first short film. The film, produced by Doxy, is an intimate about a young mother and her daughter Skye, who live in a trailer park on the outskirts of the city. Joy's easy-going parenting style is tested when Skye tries to be just as mature as her mother.

School's Out! directed by Jamille van Wijngaarden, produced by The Rogues, has previously been selected for Interfilm Berlin, Emden International Film Festival and Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. The short comedy is about a mother who blames a kindergarten teacher for failing to give her son an outlet for his male energy. The teacher tries to remain professional, but after yet another reproach she finally discovers an outlet for her own pent-up frustration...

For more information about the Les Arcs Film Festival: https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en

*Above mentioned films have been supported by the Netherlands Film Fund.